Skin Cancer too... Why Not!

I'm beginning to feel like I'm writing a book.  Our story was getting a bit boring.  So Jonathan has bone cancer and we are in the hospital again... I guess the story was ready for a twist out of left feild that no one expected.  Well this is that chapter.

I first will start with my update on the MRI from last week.  Jonathan and I went in for his MRI on thursday night.  I did actually sleep the night before and we were ready.  Prepared ourselves for the possibility that this thing in his leg is bigger, but really hopeful it was getting smaller.  We understood that there was a good chance we would see no change and get no information from this scan as well.  But what we didn't prepare for was the scan not working!  With each day that passes the pain in Jonathan's leg gets worse.  At this point he gets shooting pain down to his ankle and up to his groin.  We are trying all kinds of pain meds with not much success.  So as he laid on the MRI table, his leg as usual was spasming in pain.  It isn't like Jonathan is moving his leg, it is that he gets this nerve pain which causes his muscles to flex.  SO, they were unable to get any clear images on the MRI because of the involuntary movement in his leg.

What we do now is reschedule the MRI for next Tuesday with an anesthesiologist. They will need to sedate him with a muscle relaxer that will hopefully help with the leg spasming.  So hopefully on Tuesday morning we will get a completed MRI and hopefully not long after that we will get a report on the results.

Now for the twist coming out of left feild:  About 2 months ago while one of the nurses was listening to Jonathan's lungs... You know how they do with the stethoscope on your back.  She pointed out a spot to me on his back.  She said "see how this color surrounding the original spot is different, that is a sign you should probably go get it checked."  So I sort of dismissed her and thought, I don't need one more thing to do.  It is probably nothing.  But one of Jax's friends from preschool has a mom that is a dermatologist.  We've gotten to know them a bit in the last year and develop a friendship.  So one day I ran into Mara, Justin's mom at school.  It was some time later, but I remembered I intended to ask her a favor.  She agreed to just let me take a picture and email it to her and she would let me know if we need to really take the time to come in.  So a few weeks later I finally got around to photographing Jonathan's back and emailing Mara.  Of course she said we probably should come in so she could biopsy them.
                           
So on Tuesday morning when Jonathan's counts were the best and we weren't in the hospital, Mara was able to squeeze Jonathan in.  She cut out 3 spots on his back and measured 2 more that look suspicious but weren't really big.  On Thursday night when I got home from the hospital, literally as I was walking through the door my phone rang.  It was Mara.  I could tell by her voice that she was a bit uncomfortable.  This poor girl had to call me to tell me that not only does my husband have bone cancer, now he also has skin cancer.  The biopsy showed that these spots are stage 2 melanoma cancer.  Not just a simple non spreading type of skin cancer, but a more aggresive type that can spread to his lymph.  He needs to have surgery and he needs to have it pretty quickly.  She said with everything else going on, she was going to refer us on to cancer care northwest and send all of her findings to our current oncologist.

Jonathan spoke with our medical oncologist this morning.  These 2 cancers are not at all related to each other.  This is just a fluke absolutely unlucky weird chain of events.  Ever heard of a 29 year old with 2 unrelated forms of cancer at once?  This is the most dangerous type of skin cancer and we need to get it out.  (I googled it and the first thing I saw was this type of skin cancer causes the most death from skin cancer.  It is caused by genetics and sun exposure...not sure if I want to keep reading but will now be a nazi about sun screen) So Dr. Raj is arranging to have a surgeon come and consult with us today and most likely will be having surgery this weekend and not coming home from the hospital.  We will continue with his methotrexate next week, but may have to delay his cisplatin and doxi treatment until his incisions are healed.  This may in the long run push surgery on his knee as well but don't really know anything for sure.  We need to consult with our surgeon in Seattle.  Dr. Raj did say that during surgery they will inject a dye and it will tell us if the cancer has spread to his lymph.  However when we did the PET scan in July, there were no spots at that time.  But this may also offer us another reason to throw the rules out the window and just get another PET scan sooner.  So we are hopeful that this will just be a surgery and we can move on from this bump in the road.  However it is quite discouraging that it may effect his other surgery, or maybe it will help get a PET scan sooner... trying to think of some reason this could be positive, but I'm really stretching. We did find out that the reason he can not get another PET scan is not because it is too toxic, but actually because the insurance won't pay for more than 1 every 3 months.  So, now our dr can argue that this is a separate issue requiring another scan.

As for now we are still gathering information and forming a new plan.  We will see what the surgeon says and I'll let you know the updates as I know more.

I have had kind of a rough week.  After working myself up about the MRI, then not getting it... It just is hard to stay positive all the time.  I really try not to have pity parties, but bad days are inevitable.  So I took charge again, decided I needed to stop comfort eating and get my head on straight.  The girls took me out on Tuesday night and I'm really learning how much it helps to feel love.  I feel like my faith is being challenged and I'm really trying to remain focused on God's love and the love from others.

About a month ago my older sister sent me a small section of a blog written by a cancer patient.  It was actually written to her family and friends.  At the time when I read it, It seemed like good advice, but now I can tell you how right she was.  She was talking about just doing something and not waiting to be asked.  I can not tell you how many people say to us, "let us know how we can help you." And I truly believe their offer is sincere.  However most of the time, it is so hard to ask, and your so caught up in everything you don't even know what to ask for!  The topic reminded me of a sermon called Love Does.  I think if you asked most people what Love is, they would describe a feeling.  After what we are going through, Jon and I would tell you it is an action or a verb.  I remember some time ago Pastor Joe talking about this topic and how love is a command.  You can not command someone to be happy or sad, but you can command an action.  God so loved the world that he GAVE!  I think he mentioned in 1st Corinthians in the love chapter that every discription of love was a verb (in the greek text).  Love is the feeling that you get that is an involuntary response to an action.  I can not tell you how many people have given us this response.  It is so nice to just come home to a mowed lawn,  have someone bring you dinner, or have a gift waiting for you at a front desk or in the mail.  Dinners, car washers, childcare help, cleaning, groceries, and Jonathan's favorite, visitors at the hopital... I could go on and on.  I'm not telling you this so you all will do something for us...you already are!  But I just know in times like right now, feeling loved really helps a ton.  An offer doesn't get the job done.  We are so grateful to have so many people that DO so many things.  So today my advice is this, if you know someone that needs something, don't offer, tell them when you are doing it.  Your actions will make them feel love so much more than just the words that are simply easy say.

 Jonathan is doing pretty good in the hospital this week.  Giving the nurses heck as usual and trying to make the best of each day.  The nurse told him he needed to gain some muscle back so this is what a few liters of saline can do!